About

The Game

In This Grand Life, you manage your character's finances while helping them achieve their goals. Cruise your way through life with a silver spoon, or struggle endlessly to find employment as a convicted felon. You cannot control your past, but you can change your future. What choices will you make?

In-Game Screenshot

Your life is divided into weeks. You try to accomplish as much as you can each week while economic conditions and special events create interesting choices to think about. Do I go to work this week, or take part in the Hot Dog Eating competition at the park? Should I spend time looking for a better job, or stick with my current job until economic conditions improve?

Weekly Summary

Current Features

Balancing Needs - Core game loop of balancing short-term needs such as hunger, fun, hygiene and health with long-term goals like happiness, wealth and education.

Relaxing At Home

Stylised City Maps - The game map is based on a real major city, thanks to satellite imagery from the European Space Agency!

Converting satellite image into game map

Education System - Study courses and graduate with qualifications, required for some higher level occupations. Go to trade school or university.

Study At University

Promising Careers and Dead End Jobs - Prestigious career paths like Banking and Chef, plus lower level occupations like Janitor and Salesperson.

My First Job

Progressive Taxation System - The more you earn, the higher your tax bracket.

Possessions - Fridges, TVs and Computers which help with your short-term needs.

Investment and Debt - Borrow money to achieve your goals or invest for a future where you won't have to work. Minimum repayments and interest rates calculated realistically.

Life Expenses - Electricity bills, rent, loan repayments and consequences for not paying them on time.

My Income Statement

Traits/Privilege System - Begin life with advantages like rich parents, or disadvantages like alcoholism.

Tutorial - An interactive tutorial where your mother tells you to get a job.

Max E. Mumm and Minnie Mumm

Who am I?

I'm Patrick and I've been passionately creating games in my spare time for 6 years. As a solo developer with a day job, I don't have to worry about whether I can pay the rent. I have the freedom to create nerdy games that might only appeal to a small part of the gaming community. Not many games these days have personal financial statements and a progressive taxation system as key features!

Portraits and Avatars

Where did this project come from?

Some of you may have heard of Jones In The Fast Lane, a life simulation game developed by Sierra Entertainment in 1990. I remember it fondly from my childhood, even though I had no idea what I was doing at the time. In this game, you are not a superhero or astronaut. You are the little guy/girl struggling to keep your head above water. This Grand Life is a result of my desire to build on this idea. I wanted to expand on the compelling gameplay that Sierra had created, while teaching players about personal finance.

Investing In The Game

What’s your budget?

Kickstarter Budget

Special Reward Tiers

Custom Portrait - You send in a portrait photo of you, your friend or your pet and we will turn it into an in-game preset character choice. You will receive a large final version, and a smaller one will be in the game for all players to use.

Custom Character - Similar to custom portrait, but we also discuss you as a person. Then you become a custom profile with a biography and traits, just like Sue Doku and Bill Posters shown below. Players will be able to play as you in the game.

Custom Character

Custom Scenario - Along with the custom game mode (aka free play), there will be scenarios with colorful characters in the game. We will create a scenario based on your life (or with your input). Each scenario takes roughly 3-5 hours to complete.

Risks and challenges

Currency risk - Fluctuating currencies are a risk as contracters are paid in USD. A 10% change in exchange rate has been factored into the Kickstarter goal.

Delays - I have previously developed and released a game on Steam so I have experience with the process. This game is built on the foundation of my previous simulation-heavy game, so the risk of engine problems is minimal. I am keeping my day job and only using funds raised to pay for art and music. So even if there are delays, I will not run out of money and there is a low risk of the game not being finished.

Getting on Steam - Recently, Valve announced they are removing the Greenlight process and replacing it with Steam Direct. We don't know exactly when it will happen or what the final process looks like yet, so this could be a risk in getting Steam keys to backers.